Punam Chuhan-Pole, World Bank Lead Economist, said African countries should pay more attention to rising debt as the composition and structure of debt in Africa had changed causing certain risks.

She said the composition and structure of the debts raised the risks of what countries would face when they needed to refinance debt in the future.

She added that they needed to focus on managing these risks and debt in general.

“Public debt relative to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is rising in the region and the composition of debt has changed, as countries have shifted away from traditional concessional sources of financing toward more market-based ones.

“Higher debt burdens and the increasing exposure to market risks raise concerns about debt sustainability as 18 countries were classified at high-risk of debt distress in March 2018, compared with eight in 2013.

“For many African countries, the economic recovery is vulnerable to fluctuations in commodity prices and production and this underscores the need for countries to build resilience by pushing diversification strategies to the top of the policy agenda,” she said.

Also, Mr Michael Toman, World Bank Research Manager, said that no economy could fully exist without subsistent electricity.

He said electricity was very important to women’s wellbeing as they needed it to carry out various activities in their homes.

He said individuals could not provide the level of electricity needed to sustain them and their businesses.

Another contributor, Mr Khairy Al-Jamal, Head of Office, Abuja, said the World Bank would continue to support Nigeria in implementing reforms to tackle macroeconomic imbalances and boost investment, in agriculture, power, water, transport, education and health sectors.

He also said the report recognised Nigeria as one of the few sub-Saharan countries undertaking significant regulatory reforms to lower barriers in mini-grid investment.

“The report highlights a moderate strengthening of economic growth and we are fully committed to support long-term growth.

“We will continue to work with the Nigerian government so they can collect sufficient revenue, spend their resources well, adopt the policies that enable private sector investments and improve governance overall,” he said.

The 17th issue of Africa’s Pulse focuses specially on the role of innovation in accelerating electrification in Sub-Saharan Africa and its implications of achieving inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction.

The report says achieving universal electrification in Sub-Saharan Africa will require a combination of solutions involving the national grid, as well as “mini-grids” and “micro-grids” serving small concentrations of electricity users, and off-grid home-scale systems.

It also says improving regulation of the electricity sector and better management of utilities remain key to success.